Rockhampton teen sentenced for armed robbery outside Red Rooster

A teen armed robber with an 11-page criminal record, who is now in an adult Queensland jail, was on a clear criminal path from the tender age of three, a court has heard.

generic criminal with knife weapon threatening to stab

A now 18-year-old with an 11-page juvenile criminal record “made it pretty clear” where he “wanted his life to go … from a very young age”, Rockhampton District Court has heard.

The repeat offender, who has also already racked up three-pages on his adult criminal record and is serving time in Capricornia Correctional Centre, was sentenced this month for armed robbery with violence after he stole a child’s mobile phone while armed with a knife outside Red Rooster in November, 2022.

At the time, he too was still a child under Queensland law.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey told the court a report prepared for the sentencing stated the defendant had started showing oppositional defiant disorder behaviour when he was about three or four years old.

Judge Jeff Clarke said the child had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had a long history of it not being treated because he refused.

“You’ve made it pretty clear where you want your life to go, unfortunately, from a very young age,” he said.

The teenager’s rap sheet is littered with robberies, unlawful use of motor vehicles, burglaries, assaults and a serious assault offence.

The November armed robbery involved him approaching a 16-year-old who was playing a game on a phone, snatching the phone off him, demanding the passcode, making threats of violence before producing a knife and making more threats while punching the child.

He also told the child “give me your shoes now or I will stab you” after the victim had given the offender the passcode for the phone.

The court heard the defendant, who has his own 14-month-old child, ran away after the victim handed over his shoes.

The offender was found four days later, still in possession of the phone.

Mr Godfrey said the defendant, who had a disadvantage upbringing involving neglect and violence, had shown a little insight into his offending this time, commenting that he didn’t think the victim would react the way they did – getting upset – and expressing surprise the victim didn’t fight back.

“The activities that they were engaged in the day before … He thought that this would not be as big of a deal as it was,” Mr Godfrey said.

“That is perhaps a silver lining of some sort.”

The teen pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery in company with violence and was sentenced to 261 days in youth detention with 261 days presentence custody declared as time served.

A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Rockhampton teen sentenced for armed robbery outside Red Rooster